Issue - meetings

100.1   The Board considered a report providing an update on various governance workstreams completed and changes affecting LGPS and the ESPF.

100.2   Michael Burton (MB) drew the Board’s attention to the following:

1.          There has been an update to the Pension Board membership, Nigel Manvell is now the employer representative for BHCC.

2.          The General Code of Practice has been issued by the Pensions Regulator and will be applied from 27 March 2024. Officers are reviewing processes to ensure the Fund is compliant with the Code.

3.          Officers will highlight any compliance gaps and the actions required and will bring these to the next meeting and will consider whether training is needed at that point or if a working group is required.

4.          The Risk Management policy has had some minor updates but no material changes have been made.

100.3     RM confirmed that the Board had responded to the consultation on the General Code and highlighted the differences between the trustee role in private schemes and the role of Board members in LGPS pensions where it has an advisory role and asked if this had been acknowledged by the Regulator in the final code.

100.4     MB confirmed that some revisions have been made on this matter to make things clearer and that additional guidance has been provided to LGPS. Updates to the  trustee toolkit are being developed and Officers are considering what training needs to be  provided.

100.5   The Board agreed that it should at least once a year consider the full risk register rather than just changes;  see later note under item 13.

NS asked whether there had been any progress by the ACCESS pool following its Governance review. SK advised that the initial learnings and approach from the ACCESS Governance review will go to the ACCESS Joint Committee in March and then actions will follow from there. There have been lots of meetings with Officers to agree how to approach this and work is in train.

RM asked a question on the fall in the Funding level in March 2023. SK advised there was a drop to the funding rate of over 5% in March due to the pension increase of 10.1% in line with CPI , reflecting the actual change in the liability position as of 1 April 2023.

100.5     RM asked if the actuary’s funding position is setting out the total funding level for the whole Fund or just the main section for East Sussex, and whether the Actuary is making assumptions where data is missing.

100.6     Officers confirmed that all employer sections are included in the whole fund position with the same ongoing assumptions and that where  data is missing  the Actuary is making an assumption similar to that made at the last valuation.

100.7   The Board RESOLVED to note the report.